Sex – Health Benefits

Since I’m a big advocate of sex (within marriage of course) I thought I should share this highly educational article. I’ve made lighthearted comments about these points to people before, but it was interesting to read it from a professional MD. After reading this there really aren’t many valid excuses to not have sex.

The Health Benefits of Sex
By Al Sears, MD

The most credible study connecting overall health with sexual frequency comes from Queens University in Belfast. They tracked the mortality of about 1,000 middle-aged men over the course of a decade. After 10 years, the British Medical Journal revealed, the men who reported the highest frequency of orgasm enjoyed a death rate 50 percent lower than the others.

Other studies show that having sex a few times a week has a direct link to:

  • Reduced risk of heart disease: In a 2001 follow-up to the Queens University study, researchers looked at cardiovascular health. They found that by having sex three or more times a week, men lowered their risk of heart attack and stroke by 50 percent.
  • Weight loss: Sex is exercise. A vigorous session is about the same as running for 15 minutes or playing a game of tennis. During sex, your pulse rate rises from about 70 beats per minute to 150, similar to what you’d get from a vigorous workout at the gym.
  • Pain relief: Just before orgasm, your level of a hormone called oxytocin surges to five times its normal level. This, in turn, releases endorphins, which alleviate the pain of everything from headaches to arthritis – even migraines. (In women, sex stimulates the production of estrogen, which can reduce the pain of PMS.)

I know I’m writing this late but for health’s sake we should probably get some exercise in before we go to sleep…

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